Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)

The combination of a youth bulge and failures in education represent a serious threat to the future development of many African countries. Education systems are simply not providing the youth with the skills they need to escape poverty – worse still, many are left out of the system altogether. And the situation in countries affected by conflict is even worse.

Early Childhood Development (ECDE) in Zambia is not yet well recognized and prioritized at all levels from community to Government. There are still very few ECDE programs in communities compared to the demand. This is due to the lack of a legal framework or policy in the establishment and implementation of ECDE programs. There are several pieces of uncoordinated legislation on children which makes it difficult to make any significant impact in the quality of services for children from 0 – 8years.